Video gaming has become an official high school sport in Utah.
“What we are doing here today in Utah is going to become a national model and show every other state how to do it,” Bob Sorenson of iTEAM USA, one of the groups behind the initiative, said.
State Sen. Daniel Thatcher helped organise the effort, spearheaded by iTEAM USA and PlayVS, to give students a chance at what is quickly becoming a cutting edge sport.
“It will open up more opportunities for our students. What I want the kids to know is there is a career in this,” Joel Marquez, a computer science education specialist with the Utah Department of Education, said.
“Students are the winners. Esports is the gate to I.T. [information technology] and C.S. [computer science]. It gives students a connection and a different view of tech,” Sorenson said.
Organisers believe it will help prepare students to join the workforce in many ways.
“There is a stigma with gamers. An anti-social stigma. I’ve seen 250 students come together of all different genres and become friends and have fun doing this. That created a place of belonging for them,” Marquez said.
By Niji Narayan
Niji Narayan has been in the writing industry for well over a decade or so. He prides himself as one of the few survivors left in the world who have actually mastered the impossible art of copy editing. Niji graduated in Physics and obtained his Master’s degree in Communication and Journalism. He has always interested in sports writing and travel writing. He has written for numerous websites and his in-depth analytical articles top sports magazines like Cricket Today and Sports Today. He reports gaming industry headlines from all around the globe.